(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of managing knowledge information, a method of generating knowledge information, a method of using knowledge information, and an apparatus for managing knowledge information, and more particularly to a method of managing knowledge information, a method of generating knowledge information, a method of using knowledge information, and an apparatus for managing knowledge information for the purpose of reusing knowledge information shared between a plurality of users.
(2) Description of the Related Art
With the rapid progress at present of electronic databases of information, almost all documents produced for business are generated as electronic data using word processors or the like. Documents available as electronic data include a wide variety of knowledge. Knowledges contained in the electronic data generated in certain business applications often provide reference materials for other similar business occasions. Therefore, it has been desired to manage knowledges contained in electronic data and make such electronic data available for reuse.
One system for managing knowledges contained in electronic data is a knowledge management system. The knowledge management system stores various items of information (the fruits of actions such as proposals, designs, programs, etc.) as a library. The knowledge management system allows users to reuse the knowledge stored in the library, thereby preventing the users from repeating the same processes as done before for improved business efficiency.
The information stored in the library of the knowledge management system represents only xe2x80x9cresultsxe2x80x9d, and any information representing analytical details and processes that have led to the results is not stored in the library. Therefore, there has been nothing for the users to rely on for reusing information representing analytical details and processes.
Recently, there has been developed a network-connected environment in which analytical details and processes that have led to certain information (fruits) are stored by collaboration tools such as teleconference systems and bulletin board systems, for example. However, there has not been available any method of organically relating and managing information (fruits) registered in a library and information representative of analytical details and processes that have led to information stored by collaboration tools.
Therefore, it has been desired to solve the following problems:
Problem 1: Only Final Fruits Have Been Reused
An investigation of a certain business has indicated that information (fruits) stored in a library with respect to the business is only about 5% of the information that is produced day after day. Generally, information that users may want to reuse includes not only information about proposals, designs, and programs which is stored in a library, but also information about analytical details and processes that have led to the stored information (or that have led to the conclusions which the stored information has). It is presumed that the information about analytical details and processes reaches 95% of all the information.
The 95% information has not been reused but left unused because no storage means and no retrieval means have been available for effectively reusing the information. It has long been desirous of reusing the information for achieving continuous cost reductions and process improvements.
Close scrutiny of the final fruits shows that there are many projects which are similar to each other with respect to the forms of target systems and the processes of accomplishing the systems. If information can be exchanged and shared between such similar projects while the projects are under way, then a considerable reduction of the overall cost of the projects can be expected. However, there has been available no means for sharing and indicating such information.
Problem 2: Information has Been Reused Only Locally
If information generated with respect to a previous project is to be reused by a subsequent project, then it has been customary for the subsequent project to reuse fruits (proposals, designs, and programs), themselves, of the previous project which have been stored in a library. In a large company, several thousand projects are newly produced and completed each year, and products of these projects are stored in servers connected to the network. Many of these projects are similar to each other. Nevertheless, the products are reused only within departments and sections, i.e., locally.
Problem 3: Projects are Reused Only Separately
The fruits (products) of a project can directly be reused in relatively many cases. In order to keep up with recent technological innovations that are developed at a rate often referred to as dog year (meaning that a normal year corresponds to about seven years, based on the rate at which dogs age 7 times faster than humans), there have recently been demands for using a combination of best aspects of the products of projects as best practices. However, it has been difficult to select best-practice information from a vast number of products. It has also been difficult to rely on a manual process to evaluate individual products individually and reconstruct them as a collection of information.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of and an apparatus for managing knowledge information in a manner to allow users to reuse information representing analytical details and processes which have led to a collection of information representing fruits.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of generating knowledge information to collect information representing analytical details and processes which have led to a collection of information representing fruits for thereby presenting best practices.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of using knowledge information to reuse information representing analytical details and processes which have led to a collection of information representing fruits.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of managing knowledge information for a computer which manages knowledge information shared through a network. The method comprises the steps of managing a series of message data exchanged between persons involved in a business through the network in order to perform the business to solve a problem, accumulating dialogue streams containing contents of the series of message data, and sequentially accumulating objects required to perform the business in a process from generation of the problem to a conclusion about the problem, in a state in which the objects are required, relating a desired one of the accumulated dialogue streams and a desired one of the accumulated objects to each other in response to a relating request, and outputting information about the desired dialogue stream and the desired object which are related to each other in response to a related information acquiring request.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an apparatus for managing knowledge information shared through a network. The apparatus comprises dialogue stream accumulating means for managing a series of message data exchanged between persons involved in a business through the network in order to perform the business to solve a problem, and accumulating dialogue streams containing contents of the series of message data, object accumulating means for sequentially accumulating objects required to perform the business in a process from generation of the problem to a conclusion about the problem, in a state in which the objects are required, relating means for relating a desired one of the dialogue streams accumulated by the dialogue stream accumulating means and a desired one of the objects accumulated by the object accumulating means to each other in response to a relating request, and outputting means for outputting information about the desired dialogue stream and the desired object which are related to each other in response to a related information acquiring request.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a method of generating knowledge information for a computer which analyzes contents of knowledge information. The method comprises the steps of in response to a retrieval request, collecting items of knowledge information matching the retrieval request from items of knowledge information accumulated in another computer connected to the computer through a network, combining desired items of knowledge information from the collected items of knowledge information matching the retrieval request to generate new knowledge information, and outputting the generated new knowledge information.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a method of using knowledge information for a computer which uses through a network knowledge information which comprises dialogue streams containing a series of message data exchanged between persons involved in a business through the network in order to perform the business to solve a problem, and objects required to perform the business in a process from generation of the problem to a conclusion about the problem. The method comprises the steps of outputting a relating request specifying a desired one of accumulated dialogue streams and a desired one of accumulated objects to a server computer which has accumulated the knowledge information in response to a control input, outputting a related information acquiring request about the desired dialogue stream and the desired object which are related to each other to the server computer in response to a control input, and displaying information transmitted from the server computer in response to the related information acquiring request.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention by way of example.